State v. Dean

This is an appeal under RSA 262-B:9 (Supp. 1973). The questions raised by the defendant’s exception are whether the mandatory sentencing provision of the Habitual Offenders Act, RSA 262-B:7 (Supp. 1973), constitutes an improper legislative encroachment on judicial discretion in sentencing, and whether that provision violates the state or federal constitutional prohibitions against disproportionate, or cruel and unusual punishment. N.H. Const, pt. I, art. 18; U.S. Const, amend. VIII.

After a series of convictions for driving while intoxicated and for operating a motor vehicle after license…